Irish lose 81-89 in shootout at SMU
dallas – The Notre Dame men’s basketball team played SMU until the very end at Moody Arena, but ultimately fell 81-89 in a shootout on Tuesday night. The Fighting Irish (11-14, 2-10) erased a 10-point first-half deficit and took a three-point lead in the second half. That’s when the Broncos (17-7, 6-5) went on a 19-2 run, but even then, the Irish fought back multiple times within six points but couldn’t overcome the final hurdle when the final buzzer sounded.
Notre Dame shot over 50% in both halves and ended the game 31-58. SMU also fought back with a strong shooting performance, finishing 32-61. The Broncos used size as their main advantage tonight, outrebounding ND 38-26 and outscoring ND 17-8 in second-chance points.
Four Irishmen scored in double figures, with Jalen Haralson scoring 23 points on 9-for-13 shooting. Braeden Shrewsberry and Cole Certa each added 16 points and shot 9-18 from three-point range on the night. In the end, Brady Kohler scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting and added 6 rebounds.
how did this happen
SMU started the game on a 6-7 run, including a 3-3 run from beyond the arc, to lead 16-7. The Broncos then led by 10 points until a Shrewsbury 3-pointer made it 14-21 at 12:04, just before the media timeout.
With Celta and Mohammed’s three-pointers, plus Aimes’ layup, the Irish team went on an 8-0 run, chasing the score to 22-24 at 9 minutes and 22 seconds, narrowing the gap to 2 points.
SMU’s Boopie Miller got hot early, hitting a 3-pointer to tie the game at 3-3 early on, and scored 12 points to give the Mustangs a 32-24 lead at the 7:29 mark.
Shrewsbury’s 3-pointer after the media timeout cut the Irish’s deficit to five points. Certa made a three-pointer at 5:27 to make it a two-point game. With 4 minutes left in the game, Celta’s third three-pointer of the first half made it 33-34.
Haralson scored in double figures with 1:57 to go, scoring his 10th point of the game to tie the game at 37. However, Bupi Miller ended the half with a 6-0 run, chasing the score to 43-37. Miller made 6 of 7 shots and 3 of 3 three-pointers in the first half, scoring 18 points.
Notre Dame shot 14-28 (50.0%) in the first half, while SMU shot 16-28 (57.1%). The Irish are 6-12 from three-point range, the Broncos are 8-15. Both sides committed 7 turnovers.
Notre Dame got off to a positive start in the second half, going on a 6-0 run with inside scores from Kohler, Haralson and Toth, tying the score. The Irish then led 45-43 at 15:54 of the second half, regaining the lead for the first time since the first half at 17:43.
Shortly after, Shrewsbury’s 3-pointer gave the Irish a three-point lead, but SMU went on a 19-2 game-changing spurt over the next four minutes to take a 64-50 lead at 10:44.
Shrewsbury’s fourth three-pointer of the night ended the Irish’s scoring drought. Haralson then scored five straight points to put the pair against SMU. Subsequently, Seta’s fourth three-pointer brought the score back to 8 points, but with 7 minutes left in the game, SMU’s B.J. Edwards ended the game with a 61-72 three-pointer.
The Irish team continued to fight hard and went on an 11-6 run to chase the score to 6 points, 72-78. SMU went on a 5-0 run and soon chased the lead to 11 points, but Haralson’s finish and Shrewsbury’s three-pointer narrowed the deficit to six points again.
The Broncos then went on a 4-0 run, but with 16 seconds left, the Irish fought back with a 4-0 run. The Irish fouled, sending SMU to the free throw line, and made the final two free throws to win 89-81.
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The Irish return home for Saturday’s Valentine’s Day game against Georgia Tech. Tip-off is expected to take place at noon ET on The CW. Tickets are still available for purchase at FightingIrish.com.